Voting begins in Spain in an election that could see another EU country swing to the right

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called snap elections after Spain’s Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and its far-left partner, Unidas Podemos, suffered blows in local and regional elections in May. Sanchez is the first since 2018.
Most polls of Sunday’s vote put the right-wing Popular Party, which won the May election, ahead of the Socialists, but likely needs the support of the far-right Vox party if they want to form a government.

Such an alliance would restore an extreme right-wing force to the Spanish government for the first time since the country transitioned to democracy in the late 1970s following the nearly 40-year rule of dictator Francisco Franco.
They are opposed by the Socialists and a new movement called the Soumar that brings together 15 small left-wing parties for the first time ever.
With no party expected to gain an outright majority, the choice is essentially between another left-wing coalition and a partnership between the right and the far right.
Polling stations opened for about 37 million voters at 0700 GMT and will close at 1800 GMT. Semi-final results are expected by midnight.
Elections are taking place in the height of summer, and millions of voters are likely to spend their vacation away from their usual polling places.
But mail-in vote requests have skyrocketed, and officials have estimated turnout at 70 percent.
Sanchez’s government has led Spain through the COVID-19 pandemic and dealt with an inflation-induced economic downturn exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But his reliance on fringe parties in his minority coalition, including separatist forces from Catalonia and the Basque Country, and his passage of slews of liberal laws could cost him his job.
Right-wing parties hate everything about Sanchez, saying he has betrayed and ruined Spain. They have vowed to overturn dozens of his laws, many of which have benefited millions of citizens and thousands of businesses.
Elections are taking place in the height of summer, and millions of voters are likely to spend their vacation away from their usual polling places.
But mail-in vote requests have skyrocketed, and officials have estimated turnout at 70 percent.
With a month of heatwaves to come, temperatures are expected to average over 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and rise between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius above normal in many parts of the country on Sunday.
Spain’s 36 million voters will be able to cast ballots between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. (0700 and 1800 GMT), with semi-final results expected by midnight.